avalonbay communities: preliminary report of findings (august 7, 2008)

THE CONCERNED CITIZENS OF ROSELLE PARK

AvalonBay Communities: Preliminary Report of Findings

August 7, 2008

INTRODUCTION

The Concerned Citizens of Roselle Park, a non-partisan, informal group of concernedresidents from the borough of Roselle Park, New Jersey, are neither a political, religious,nor social organization. Our organization’s objective is to contribute information, material,and resources to promote participation among those interested in becoming involved andaffecting change.

On April 16 , 2008, AvalonBay Communities, through its representative Ron Laddell, gaveth

a presentation on its plans to develop an apartment complex on what is commonly referredto as ‘the Romerovski property’. The property is actually two parcels of land located at 404Westfield Avenue West and 450 Westfield Avenue West. It is owned by Mr. IsraelBraunstein under the corporation 450 West Westfield Realty, LLC who purchased theproperty, according to tax records, in 2003.

During the AvalonBay Communities presentation, Mr. Laddell gave a general overview ona generic plan for the Romerovski property. There was a question and answer periodwhere Mr. Laddell welcomed residents to research and investigate the statements andproposals made by AvalonBay Communities. After that presentation, Roselle Park VP,LLC, a partnership between AvalonBay Communities and Israel Braunstein, entered intomediation sessions with the Borough of Roselle Park, mediated by Elizabeth McKenzie.Since April 16 , there has been a gag order on both parties with regard to discussion of theth

Romerovski property.

In keeping with the Mr. Laddell’s recommendations, The Concerned Citizens of RosellePark performed its own independent investigation on AvalonBay Communities in NewJersey. We visited all active AvalonBay communities in the state, toured an actualdevelopment complex, contacted school districts, municipal tax offices, and requestedstate records.

A little over three months later, we now present a Preliminary Report of Findings whichgives residents an opportunity to reach a more informed decision on the impact thatAvalonBay will have on Roselle Park. All research was done on a voluntary basis with nocompensation (of any manner) given by any person and/or party.

We are open to clarifications and/or amendments to gather as much information aspossible with regard to this important matter.



August 7, 2008

AVALONBAY COMMUNITIES

AvalonBay Communities, a publicly traded company, mainly under NYSE symbol AVB(with AVB-H among others being traded as their preferred stock) presently has 11 of itscommunities in 10 municipalities throughout New Jersey. It used to have 13communities but the Tower at Avalon Cove in Jersey City and Avalon Crest in Fort Leewere sold. The remaining properties are:

ABERDEEN

Avalon at Aberdeen Station1000 Central Avenue

EAST RUTHERFORD

Avalon Rutherford Station201 Railroad Avenue

EDGEWATER

Avalon at Edgewater100 River Mews Lane

FLORHAM PARK

Avalon at Florham ParkOne Florence Drive

FREEHOLD TOWNSHIP

Avalon at Freehold100 Lambert Way

JERSEY CITY

Avalon Cove444 Washington Boulevard

LAWRENCEVILLE

Avalon Run1000 Town Court North

LAWRENCEVILLE

Avalon Run East100 AvalonBay Drive

LYNDHURST

Avalon Lyndhurst1301 Wall Street West

TINTON FALLS

Avalon Tinton Falls100 Autumn Drive

WEST WINDSOR

Avalon Watch1000 Jamie Brooks Lane

Currently, AvalonBay Communities has proposals in three (3) other municipalities, inaddition to Roselle Park, to develop their product: Bloomingdale, Highland Park, andSomerville. The proposal from AvalonBay in Bloomingdale appears to have beenabandoned (or at least suspended) after environmental issues arose regardingendangered species that were found on the property in question.



August 7, 2008

MUNICIPALITY COMPARISON BY POPULATION AND DENSITY

Municipality County Population (2006) Density (per m ) %2

Aberdeen Monmouth 18,382 3,153 17.2%

East Rutherford Bergen 8,931 2,289 25.6%

Edgewater Bergen 9,268 9,061 97.8%

Florham Park Morris 12,065 1,192 9.9%

Freehold Twp. Monmouth 11,394 5,502 48.3%

Jersey City Hudson 241,789 16,046 6.6%

Lawrenceville Mercer 32,081 1,317 4.1%

Lyndhurst Bergen 19,732 4,170 21.1%

Tinton Falls Monmouth 17,082 966 5.7%

West Windsor Mercer 26,279 843 3.2%

Roselle Park, which would become the only AvalonBay community in Union County,has a 2006 recorded population of 13,124 people with a density of 10,855 people persquare mile (m ). The only comparable municipality is Edgewater, whose density to2

population ratio is 97.8%

MUNICIPALITY COMPARISON BY LAND AREA

Municipality Total Area Land Area %

Aberdeen 7.8 m 5.5 m 70.5%2 2

East Rutherford 4.2 m 3.8 m 90.5%2 2

Edgewater 2.4 m 0.9 m 37.5%2 2

Florham Park 7.4 m 7.4 m 100.0%2 2

Freehold 2.0 m 2.0 m 100.0%2 2

Jersey City 21.0 m 15.0 m 71.4%2 2

Lawrenceville 22.0 m 22.0 m 100.0%2 2

Lyndhurst 4.9 m 4.7 m 95.9%2 2

Tinton Falls 15.6 m 15.6 m 100.0%2 2

West Windsor 26.0 m 26.0 m 100.0%2 2

Roselle Park has a total area of 1.2 square miles, with all of it being land area. FreeholdTownship is the most comparable municipality having 100% land area of its 2 squaremile total area.



August 7, 2008

MUNICIPALITY COMPARISON BY SCHOOL DISTRICT (TYPE)

Municipality District Type School District Factor Group

Aberdeen K-12 FG

East Rutherford K-12 CD

Edgewater Pre K-6 DE

Florham Park K-8 I

Freehold Twp K-8 GH

Jersey City K-12 B

Lawrenceville K-12 GH

Lyndhurst Pre K-12 DE

Tinton Falls (*) K-12 Not Available

West Windsor Pre K-12 DE

Roselle Park’s school district presently covers grades from kindergarten through highschool. It has a District Factor Group (DFG) classification of ‘GH’. The municipality ofLawrenceville is most comparable with a ‘GH’ DFG and a school system that coversgrades K-12. The DFG for Tinton Falls was not available at present. When it becomesavailable, it will be included in the report.

MUNICIPALITY COMPARISON BY SCHOOL DISTRICT (FUNDING)

Municipality County % Funded Locally

Aberdeen Monmouth 77%

East Rutherford Bergen 89%

Edgewater Bergen 87%

Florham Park Morris 90%

Freehold Twp Monmouth 88%

Jersey City Hudson 13%

Lawrenceville Mercer 85%

Lyndhurst Bergen 88%

Tinton Falls (*) Monmouth 70%

West Windsor Mercer Not Available

Roselle Park’s schools were 65% locally funded. The municipalities most comparablewould be Tinton Falls and Aberdeen. The impact on Tinton Falls cannot be measuredfully because AvalonBay Communities just opened their complex in 2008. Thepercentage for West Windsor was not available at present. When that informationbecomes available, it will be included in the report.



August 7, 2008

MUNICIPALITY COMPARISON BY SCHOOL DISTRICT (POPULATION)

Municipality Student Population AvalonBay Student AvalonBay Units %

Aberdeen 3,723 18 290 6.2%

East Rutherford 695 Not Available 108 -

Edgewater 453 70 408 17.2%

Florham Park 1,048 22 270 8.1%

Freehold Twp 4,626 43 296 14.5%

Jersey City 20,910 16 504 3.2%

Lawrenceville 4,032 135 942 14.3%

Lyndhurst 2,247 8 325 2.5%

Tinton Falls (*) 1,588 Not Available 216 -

West Windsor 5,563 181 512 35.4%

(*) Tinton Falls’ information cannot be ascertained because the AvalonBaydevelopment opened in 2008.

The information for East Rutherford is presently in the process of being requestedthrough an OPRA (Open Public Records Act) request. When that information becomesavailable, it will be amended to the report.

Roselle Park for the 2007-2008 school year had 2,059 students attend its schools.

The proposal from AvalonBay is to have a development of 278 units.

As shown by the available data, the percentage of students who live in AvalonBayapartments and attend public schools varies from municipality to municipality. Theincrease in student population, if applied to Roselle Park, could be as high as 98additional students.

A complete average of the developments to student ratio that was provided gave anaverage of 12.7% which would come out to 35 additional students attending RosellePark public schools. This number is greater than the average proposed by AvalonBay inits presentation.



August 7, 2008

AVALONBAY PROPERTIES (ACREAGE, DATE OF PURCHASE, AND PRICE)

Municipality Acres Purchase Date Purchase Price

Aberdeen 16.58 June 19, 2006 $57,600,000

East Rutherford 1.50 July 10, 2007 $35,850,000

Edgewater 7.64 March 11, 1999 $13,534,000

Florham Park 41.19 August 2, 1999 $6,002,258

Freehold 40.27 May 19, 2000 $4,600,000

Freehold 1.95 August 27, 1993 $350,000

Jersey City 11.15 August 15, 1994 $8,543,562

Lawrenceville 27.13 July 15, 1997 $17,046,500

Lawrenceville 68.53 April 23, 2003 $6,000,000

Lyndhurst 5.80 May 14, 2004 $3,000,000

Tinton Falls 37.47 April 3, 2007 $7,750,000

West Windsor 64.36 November 2, 1993 $42,500,000

AVALONBAY PROPERTIES (PROPERTY ASSESSMENTS)

Municipality Assessed Land Improvements

Aberdeen $4,074,000 $4,074,000 $0

Aberdeen $29,213,200 $0 $29,213,200

East Rutherford $17,100,000 $1,800,000 $15,300,000

Edgewater $112,200,000 $34,680,000 $77,520,000

Florham Park $65,369,900 $13,500,000 $51,869,900

Freehold $25,065,900 $1,600,800 $23,465,100

Freehold $68,000 $68,000 $0

Jersey City $5,716,600 $5,716,600 $0

Jersey City $25,000,000 $0 $25,000,000

Lawrenceville $16,365,200 $2,884,000 $13,481,200

Lawrenceville $25,662,000 $4,516,800 $21,145,200

Lyndhurst $68,064,100 $5,800,000 $62,264,100

Tinton Falls $7,494,000 $7,494,000 $0

West Windsor $63,875,000 $15,360,000 $48,515,000



August 7, 2008

AVALONBAY PROPERTIES (TAXES)

Municipality Payment Type 2008 Ratio 2007 Taxes

Aberdeen Taxes 37.94% $220,281.19

Aberdeen PILOT 37.94% $947,869.72

East Rutherford Taxes 54.00% $496,043.69

Edgewater Taxes 40.56% $1,317,200.00

Florham Park Taxes 106.18% $764,827.81

Freehold Taxes 47.06% $892,095.38

Freehold Taxes 47.06% $2,420.12

Jersey City Taxes 26.12% $176,326.27

Lawrenceville Taxes 47.88% $597,329.81

Lawrenceville Taxes 47.88% $936,663.00

Lyndhurst Taxes 100.00% $1,089,025.62

Tinton Falls Taxes 100.00% $17,808.57

West Windsor Taxes 101.00% $1,220,012.50

The ratio for Roselle Park is averaged at 23.48%.

PILOT, which stands for Payment In Lieu Of Taxes, is a program whereby amunicipality can receive a payment from a developer instead of, or in addition to, taxesfor an agreed upon number of years. Presently, Aberdeen is the only municipality thatstated it has a PILOT agreement with AvalonBay Communities; taxes are collected onthe property as well.

The taxes collected for Tinton Falls are minimal. This is most likely due to the propertybeing completed and opened in 2008.



August 7, 2008

THE ROMEROVSKI PROPERTY

The Romerovski property proposed for development by AvalonBay in Roselle Park isactually two (2) locations which were purchased by Israel Braunstein on October 1 ,st

2003 for $2,650,000.00:

• Block 213 - Lot 1• 2.18 acres• Assessed at $805,000• Land value of $575,000• Improvements of $230,000• Tax paid in 2007 was $83,671.10

• Block 314 - Lot 1• 2.50 acres• Assessed at $950,000• Land value of $460,000• Improvements of $490,000• Tax paid in 2007 was $98,743.00

• Total Property• 4.68 acres• Assessment of $1,755,000• Land value of $1,305,000• Improvements of $720,000• Tax paid in 2007 was $182,414.70

The property was assessed at a ratio of 34.15%



August 7, 2008

AVALONBAY TRAFFIC IMPACT

Avalon at Aberdeen Station is on a road that itself is off a two-lane road. The trafficimpact on Aberdeen is minimal due to the distance between the entrance to the

development and the main roadway.

Avalon at Florham Park is on a major roadway but the structure is not comparable tothe proposed structure for Roselle Park. Additionally, there are two entrances whichare not gated and allow for easy entry and exit from the townhouse-style community.



August 7, 2008

Avalon at Freehold is on a two-lane road. It also has two entrances. One on the mainroad and another at the corner which considerably lessens the traffic impact for

Freehold. Two entrances are a factor when realizing the Roselle Park cannot allow twoentrances onto the proposed property. The street in between the property is the Gordon

Street Bridge, which would not be able to accommodate a side entrance.

Avalon Cove in Jersey is on a six-lane heavily trafficked road. The entrance to thedevelopment, however, has a traffic light dedicated to it. This allows for the regulation of

vehicles entering and exiting the development.



August 7, 2008

Avalon Run and Avalon Run East, both located in Lawrenceville are listed as twoseparate properties but they are connected. The two entrances, one on a major four-

lane road and the other on a side road, alleviate the traffic entering and exiting thedevelopment(s). Additionally, Avalon Run East is directly behind Quakerbridge Village

Commons, a retail complex.

Avalon Lyndhurst is on a road which itself is off a service road. The development,similar to the one proposed for Roselle Park, experiences very little direct traffic in

comparison with Westfield Avenue. The is also a tiered garage behind thedevelopment.



August 7, 2008

Avalon Tinton Falls is located on a major road. The townhouse style community hasabout 100 yards of a private avenue before entering the development and it is not

gated. These two factors would not be comparable to the development proposed forRoselle Park.

Avalon Watch, located in West Windsor, is on a country road. Its townhouse-like designand non-gated entrance does not make it a comparable community to the one

proposed for Roselle Park.



August 7, 2008

Avalon at Edgewater resembles the structure of the generic plan proposed byAvalonBay Communities. This development is on a four-lane, major roadway but it isregulated by a traffic light. Additionally, the entrance to the apartment development isnot on the main road but on a school-zone two-lane side street. The only elementary

school for Edgewater is directly across the street from the development.

Avalon Rutherford Station in East Rutherford is the development that most resemblesthe proposed generic plan provided by AvalonBay Communities. This development is

on a two-lane street. The traffic would not be comparable to Roselle Park, though, sinceour borough has a four-lane road with constant traffic going directly to and from the

Garden State Parkway.



August 7, 2008

CONCLUSION

The present situation with AvalonBay and Roselle Park VP, LLC is one that will impactRoselle Park for years and decades to come. If AvalonBay becomes part of thecommunity, there will be issues and matters that will need to be addressed properly for thebenefit of all involved.

It must be stressed that any developer, if AvalonBay for whatever reason decides to notdevelop in Roselle Park, should understand the impact on municipal services, schools, andtraffic in their attempts to become a member of the community, as well as maintaining anopen communication with the borough and its residents.

Should AvalonBay Communities decide to develop in Roselle Park, some suggestionsmight be for AvalonBay to understand its long-term impact on the community. Perhapssub-divide the property development into phases to demonstrate to the community thebenefits of their product and services. Additionally, perhaps it could give seriousconsideration to PILOT or a combination of PILOT and taxes that would show itscommitment to Roselle Park, thereby contributing to its own interests as a developer whois indeed community oriented. An amount was proposed of $900,000 during AvalonBayCommunities’ presentation on April 16 . With the information provided, showing that thereth

really is no ‘comparable town’ to Roselle Park’s unique land area, population, trafficpatterns, school issues, tax base, and infrastructure, we remain optimistic that a mediationmore in line with the facets and needs of Roselle Park could be attained for now and forthe future.

The Concerned Citizens of Roselle ParkAugust 7, 2008

avalonbay communities: preliminary report of findings (august 7, 2008)

Documents

m2 florham park

m2 edgewater

m2 lyndhurst

m2 tinton

m2 freehold

m2 lawrenceville

m2 jersey city

m2 west windsor